This year, Gerald marks 40 years in business!
Four decades of hard work, resilience and evolution, here’s a look back at the journey.
Gerald’s journey began in Dumfriesshire, where he grew up in Eaglesfield before heading to college in Lockerbie to study agronomy. Like many great business stories, it started with a decision to leave home and build something of his own. In the early 1980s, Gerald moved south to Darlington, working for chemical manufacturer Albright & Wilson and laying the foundations for what would become a lifetime in business.
Gerald often jokes about how long he’s lived in Yorkshire compared to Scotland. After Darlington came Thirsk, and with it a growing network, a reputation for hard work, and an instinct for spotting opportunity.
While working in agricultural supply, Gerald met aerial crop-spraying pilot Ross Harvey at Felixkirk. Ross was working for Farm Supply, having come over from New Zealand, and together they managed aerial crop-spraying operations. It was a partnership that left a lasting impression. In fact, Gerald later named his son Ross after him!
With grit and determination, Gerald went on to set up Crop Aid. The business covered everything from agrochemicals and fertilisers to soil sampling. If a farmer needed it, Gerald would source it and sell it. He later expanded into crop-spraying services, operating under Crop Services.
In 1990, Gerald moved to Gatenby and formed Hall Farm Merchants. The business grew quickly and successfully, fuelled by Gerald’s sales ability and clear vision. Alongside the business, he renovated and developed the farm and farmhouse into a family home, a site that still matters deeply today – as it is where Hydroblast operates from.
Gerald has always been known as a salesman who could sell just about anything. He jokes he could sell coal to Newcastle. Over the years he proved it, trading everything from a wagonload of bicycles imported from France, king cab pickups from Cyprus, to chemicals sourced across Europe. Gerald has an instinct for spotting opportunity and turning it into business.
In 2001, everything changed.
The foot-and-mouth outbreak brought agricultural activity to a halt. Like many in the industry, Gerald was forced to adapt. Instead of standing still, he diversified, moving into pressure washing and assisting with outbreak response work. That decision proved pivotal.
By 2003, Hydroblast was born.
A key moment in the company’s evolution came through Gerald’s friendship with Wolfgang, an industry specialist working for German water jetting manufacturer Falch at the time. That relationship helped Hydroblast move from pressure washing into specialist water jetting. The company later became a UK agent for Falch and was the first in Yorkshire to offer robotic hydrodemolition services.
As the business grew, so did its capabilities. Today, Hydroblast operates Hammelmann and Denjet pumps and works across contracting, sales and equipment hire. Gerald has also played a major role in raising industry standards, delivering WJA training courses and passing on decades of hard-earned knowledge to the next generation.
Now, as Hydroblast enters its third decade, the business is in safe hands. Gerald’s son, Ross, has taken on the day-to-day management of the company, continuing the legacy while pushing Hydroblast forward.
40 years on, the story of Hydroblast is still defined by the same values it started with. Hard work. Adaptability. Relationships. And the willingness to back yourself when circumstances change.
Here’s to Gerald, here’s to 40 years, here’s to what comes next!
